Chocolate Kisses
by Sciens Mulier
Summary: Ginny thinks back on a fluffy memory filled with Chocolate and Harry. HG, some RHr


It was a typical, quiet morning in the Potter household. Ginny sighed in contentment as she sipped her hot chocolate. _The Daily Prophet_ was unappealing today--even the "Owls for Gilderoy" section didn't hold its normal allure of lunacy. Outside, the birds chirped merrily, and the garden gnomes began to run around the yard.

Harry yawned as he walked into the kitchen. "Hey, Gin."

"Good morning, Harry."

Harry shuffled around, finally turning with a cup of coffee in his hand. He picked up her discarded _Daily Prophet_ and began scanning the front.

"Any thing good in here?"

"_Emanating in Edinborough_ asks how to take care of body odor charms that go wrong. Otherwise, it's positively tame."

He glanced at her, almost smiling. A sweet vulnerability played into his eyes. He looked as he had so many years ago, before he had rid the world of Voldemort. She had always wondered, through all of his heroics and through all of his strife, how he maintained that vulnerability. Yet, no matter the situation...

She smiled into her hot chocolate, and allowed its scent to fill her memory. She remembered when he had first appeared so open to her. It had been quite an..._eventful_ night.

"What are you thinking of?"

"A certain little charm you performed," she said, "back at Hogwarts. When I left a wonderful mark in your life, and you in mine." She held out her cup, so he could see.

"Oh, Gin." He rolled his eyes. "Don't remind me. I couldn't go near the stuff for at least a year."

"Oh, right," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "I seem to remember you had a certain hunger for chocolate, right after."

He grinned at her mischievously. "Well--can you blame me? I had good reason…"

It hadn't been so long ago, at that.

She could still see him and Ron, that September night, climbing into the Griffindor common room. She had been studying, waiting for Hermione to help her with her Charms homework. In the meantime, she was scribbling down curses that would afflict her in the upcoming week for Divination. The fire had been crackling, as always, and the common room was empty.

They had been laughing as they came in, until Harry showed something he held in his hand to Ron. Then Ron grew strangely quiet, his mouth working. Completely white, he glanced at Harry.

"I'm sure she won't mind, if you explain to her…" Harry said hesitantly.

"Who won't mind what?" Ginny asked. They glanced up at her.

Harry shrugged, while Ron rubbed his forehead bewilderedly. "I forgot Hermione's birthday," Ron moaned. "She'll think I'm a git!"

"Well, she'd be right then, wouldn't she?"

"Shut up, Gin, I've got to think."

"I'm sure she'd appreciate that--rare as it is--"

Harry was heroically and wisely silent as Ron growled something that would have shocked his mother. "Gin--"

"Ron, you have no need to worry," she joked, "I'm sure she knows you're a thoughtless git by now--"

"Ginny, I wanted--" he lowered his voice, glancing nervously around the empty room. "I wanted to give her a good birthday, since we're…um…"

"You're a big boy, now. Spit it out."

"Dating…"

Ginny giggled.

"Wait," Harry said. "Wait. Remember what we learned in Transfiguration last week?"

Ron's eyes turned to beacons of hope. "Chocolates! I can give her chocolates!"

Harry smiled slightly.

"What does that have to do with Transfiguration?" Ginny asked.

"Sixth-years learned how to turn things into chocolate. Right wicked, it was. Look, you'll see," Ron said. "Harry, mate, what's the charm?"

"Erm…I was hoping you'd remember…"

"You suggested it, you have to know it!"

"At least I came up with an idea," Harry reasoned.

Ron started to claw at Harry's books, which he still had with him. "It has to be in one of these."

"Hang on," Harry said suddenly, "I remember." He took out his wand, and swishing it around, said, "Caca_om_nia!"

Ginny felt tingly all over, and sort of sticky. She reached to flick the hair out of her face--and found she couldn't move. A feeling of dread filled the pit of her stomach.

Between Ron's nerves and Harry's fluster, nobody had really paid attention as to where he pointed his wand. And now, she saw, he was pointing right at _her_.

"Erm…Harry…" she said, or tried to say. It really came out more, "Erbr--air-rar," which made the boys both stare at her in aghast horror.

"You…you killed my sister," Ron said breathlessly. Ginny would have rolled her eyes if she could have.

"Well, more like I turned her chocolate," Harry said. "I don't think she's dead." His eyes were wide. Ginny wondered if they were quite capable of thought right now.

"CHOCOLATE?" Ron roared. "I DON'T CARE WHAT SHE IS, JUST CHANGE HER BACK!"

"I don't know how!" Harry cried in frustration, his green eyes flashing. If Ginny weren't chocolate, she thought she may have been flustered herself, under the beam of those eyes.

"What are we supposed to do?"

"Be thankful it's late enough that we're the only ones down here?" Harry reasoned. "Or--we could ask Hermione."

"Yes, brilliant," Ron groaned. "Hermione, you're so important to me I forgot completely about your birthday, and so Harry and I turned my sister into chocolate for you. Happy Birthday and _Bon apetit_!"

"We aren't going to feed her Ginny," Harry said, furrowing his nose.

_Thank you_, Ginny thought. She could feel herself softening as Harry and Ron came closer. Ron bent over and inspected her face. He poked at her hair with his finger.

"I don't think you ought to do that, Ron..."

"She's melting some," Ron said.

"Ginny? Can you hear us?" Harry asked softly.

"Hey mate--do you reckon she'll stay this way forever?" Ron groaned. "Mum'll send such a howler…"

"I'm sure…she won't…" Harry said lamely. He brushed Ginny's arm, and frowned at his hand as he took it away. "She's leaving a trail of chocolate."

"Hey, maybe if she melts enough, she'll sort of--pop out of the middle. You know, like she's chocolate-coated."

"I don't think so," Harry said. "She's solid chocolate." He knocked on Ginny's back, to emphasize his point. "She might get hurt like that."

Ron wiped his own chocolate-covered hand on his robe, and took the Transfigurations book. "There has to be a cure, there has to--"

Ginny stared straight into the face of Harry as she listened to Ron wiffle the pages. That was all she could do; his head filled her vision. "Sorry for turning you into a giant candy girl."

_That's alright, really. Your apology makes it all better. Wow, I'm so glad. _"Rmp-per-bleh-jih..." she said, as sarcastically as she could. For reasons evident, it didn't work too well.

But she did forgive him, really.

Suddenly, Ron snorted. "Harry--"

"Yes?"

"You've got to kiss her."

The world teetered for a moment as Ginny thought she misheard. She _was_ a giant block of candy…maybe she had a marshmallow in her ear…heck, maybe her ears _were_ marshmallows…

Harry choked. "Excuse me?"

"The person who casts the spell has to break it. You started this mess--"

"Excuse me?"

Ron ignored him. "It's either that or make her a _Veracor_ solution--"

"Let's do that!" Harry said brightly.

"And that takes a few months. We've got no other choice."

Ginny felt very nervous to her very sugary stomach.

"Why me?"

"You cast it. You break it."

"On--on the lips?"

"Harry--"

"Fine," Harry muttered. He closed his eyes very tightly. Ginny would have grimaced if she could have. She didn't want to kiss him, either--not if he didn't want to kiss her, anyway. This would be an odd kiss. As friends, of course.

They were friends.

She was sure that was all they were.

She didn't _really_ watch his every move whenever he was nearby…nor did she take note of his mannerisms, nor did she turn to jelly when he spoke directly to her…

Not really…

At least, not all the time…

And then she felt lips on hers, at first as from far away. All she could see was him, his face, his closed eyes, and then even that vanished behind a curtain of rather tasty chocolate and something else. She felt the layers of chocolate melt away.

It was as if she had grabbed ten portkeys leading in different directions, slipped in the mud, and still gotten chocolate ice cream to make up for it all, and she was lost in the mess, completely and totally lost in the kiss.

And then it was over, and she was aware of her own breath. Harry stared at her closely as he backed away, and she stared back.

They were both splattered with chocolate.

"Erm…" Harry said.

"Uh…" Ginny said.

"Why're you two covered in chocolate?" Hermione asked, coming down the stairs.

"They got into the gift I got for your birthday," Ron said quickly, covering his shock and evident laughter. He was splattered with chocolate, too, but Harry and Ginny were, indeed, chocolate covered. Hermione looked at him as if she didn't believe him. Of course, she didn't.

But explaining the situation turned out to be a gift in itself, as Hermione anxiously began to pick up on and excitedly talk about the finer aspects of the spell-casting.

Ginny stood far away from Harry, after this, watching the exchange. She couldn't quite bring herself to look at Harry--except for his feet, which were also covered in chocolate.

Now was the time to make her escape. Trying to forget about the curse, she weaved toward the staircase…

"Ginny." He was behind her, Ron and Hermione poking at chocolate remains on the floor.

"Yes?" She forced herself to look him in the eye.

"I--"

"You…" she waited.

"I just--" He threw his hands up into the air, grabbed her shoulders, and kissed her. This time, the kiss swept through her, and she kissed back hard.

When he pulled away, he smiled. His eyes were boy-like, vulnerable like she had never seen them, and she found herself wanting to wipe the chocolate off his nose and take care of him. Forever..

"What was that for?" she asked, a bit breathless.

"I felt like a little chocolate."

Ginny shook her head and finished off the last of her hot chocolate. The aroma lingered in the air, filling their home with the sweet reminder. She smiled at Harry as he read _The Daily Prophet_, as one of the gnomes bumbled into the glass patio door, and then scurried back to his hole.

She stood and walked around the table. She stooped, and kissed him squarely on the lips.

He looked up, the boy-like light shining in his eyes.

"Just thought you might like a bit of chocolate," she said.

He agreed.


End file.
